GLP-1 promoting foods for pescatarians/vegetarians

Basically the more whole foods consumed that are also focused on proteins and natural fats and for vegetarians that would mostly be tofu, tempeh, seitan et al and if you consume dairy then a plain greek yogurt and some cheeses and eggs if you consume those along with cruciferous vegetables, squash, spinach, kale, lettuce, and arugula. Also some varieties of nuts and seeds that are on the lower side of carbs and there's many other examples and for fruit, berries generally don't effect increases in blood sugars much at all, but I'm just pitching from the hip and these would be staples in the diet that addresses elevated blood glucose and insulin production that is for the most part the problem and will works well to maintain hormonal balance that dictates the type of satiety that helps regulate out eating behavior resulting in a similar outcome of someone taking GLP-1 medication, and that's all we can ask our food to do, which also requires that person to understand that this is a lifestyle that might take some fortitude and commitment if someone was consuming mostly a SAD diet. 😊

The whole conversation around GLP-1 medication I find very fascinating and there's no doubt about it's effectiveness and the marketing and promotion was key especially when celebrity endorsements kick in.

It was a natural progression to address the diets of the demographic that these were designed for. Originally for people with type 2 diabetes to address blood sugar regulation, insulin sensitivity, and appetite control but they very quickly noticed they led to significant weight loss, considering the prevalence for being either overweight or obese in this population and presto a "magic pill needle", now apparently it can be taken orally for the people that are needle sensitive, they don't miss a beat, no doubt.

GLP-1 medication being a symptom focused approach aligns with the western medical model, often referred to as reductionist, which often prioritize targeted treatments over systemic lifestyle change. Medication for life is a very profitable business model and they're getting them younger and younger.

Ann has, as always given a well formulated and correct assessment, well, I could nit pic a little, of how a properly formulated vegetarian diet can improve metabolic health and contribute to well being that addresses the same mechanisms as GLP-1's which for the most part are blood sugar regulation, insulin sensitivity, and appetite control. With herself being a vegetarian and criticizes against poor representation and her acknowledgement of the inherent shortcomings that come with that territory is very telling which she expresses freely and often.

In complete contrast of her dietary intervention is me, consuming a ketogenic diet for the most part, sometimes I'm just lower carb, but basically ketogenic which is primarily animal protein and the natural fats that derive from those products and because a ketogenic diet is high in fat I also consume animal fats, like beef tallow, duck fat, ghee and butter for the most part with a little olive oil. How can these two diametrically opposed diet have anything in common. Basically this is my argument to support a lower carb and ketogenic dietary interventions but is in no way saying that other dietary interventions including a vegetarian diet re less effective, just different.

Back to the "reductionist" aspect and how that standard western model influences a dietary approach. Without getting into too much detail because there is a lot, I'll just say that a mostly plant based diet which was evidently endorsed well before the original dietary guidelines began, the diet promoted grains, lots of them, and directed people to consume about half of those grains in the refined state and the reasoning being that for the nutritional deficiencies that would emerge from the lack of absorption from the fiber load and the bioavailability in grains and where the refined grains could then be enriched which became an essential practice, restoring some of those lost nutrients like iron and B vitamins, folic acid, niacin, riboflavin, and thiamin which without would have compromised health worldwide.

The other half of that coin based on the conventional wisdom at the time was inferring cholesterol and saturated fat which is only found in animal products should be greatly reduced with red meat, processed meats and they threw trans fats into the mix, which is actually plant based to be avoided as much as possible, including seafood in the beginning but quickly revised that, I think a year or 18 months later were made aware that omega 3 might be something people should consume, a whoops moment, and the new guidelines coming in June is to reduce further animal protein including dairy, so the push to continue the higher carb plant based diet persists, even more so.

Anyway, again when we look at prioritizing target treatments they singled out foods that effect GLP-1 production, which sounds logical in the reductionist sense much like statins sounds logical for cholesterol, it's targeting the symptom directly. The production of GLP-1 within the body relies mostly on L-cell production which are specialized endocrine cells that play a crucial role in the secretion of glucagon-like peptide-1 (GLP-1) within the body. Basically when we consume glucose and fat this hormone (GLP-1) enhances insulin secretion, inhibits glucagon release, slows gastric emptying, and even reduces food intake, making it a key player in managing blood sugar regulation which is a vital aspect for weight management as mentioned above.

So L-cell production is mostly triggered by certain foods, mostly carbohydrates and certain fats and the best for activating L-cell production for example are resistant starches like cooled potatoes, pastas and unripe bananas. Soluble fiber like oats, beans, barley, lentils and fruit like apples also onions and garlic and of course to a lesser degree insoluble fiber like grains and some vegetables. As far as fats are concerned the research suggests other than saturated fat that long-chain unsaturated fatty acids, such as oleic acid (found in olive oil and avocados), enhance GLP-1 secretion and support L-cell function the most as well as polyunsaturated fat specifically EPA and DHA which are omega 3's but these should actually be fairly low in overall quantity in context to overall fat consumption, which has been tricky where omega 6's are basically overconsumed and not by choice but by the inherent amount that is in most of the foods that people like to eat which are those yummy ultra processed and junk foods, which are the main food consumed by most Americans and especially the demographic that we're talking about.

The subject of protein in vegetarian diets is generally looked upon as not as important with Dr. Joel Fuhrman a plant based advocate, fairly influential in that space recommend protein to be 5 or 6% of total calories consumed, suffice is to say the focus on protein in general is not emphasized enough in the vegetarian diet and where Ann has especially been keen to emphasize the value of protein in the vegetarian diet, which if inadequately formulated can invalidate or very much reduce L-cell activation and GLP-1's effectiveness, which basically can easily nullify the effects of blood sugar regulation, insulin sensitivity, and appetite control. It's not easy which I have personal n:1 experience validating how difficult dynamically changing ones preferred eating style which for the most part was lots of refined carbs, sugars and fast food to then munching down on whole plant foods, yeah it's very much a big ask and I ate a lot of animal based foods to boot. This isn't to say that we can't eat those foods but they need to be in an amount that doesn't effect the overall benefits because everyone does, including myself periodically, needs a fix once in a while.

Anyway here I am advocating for a lower carb and ketogenic diet where red meat and saturated fats are prominent and where L-cell production is very limited. The bottom line regardless, is to improve ones health by losing weight, hopefully to improve most of the dysfunction associated with metabolic syndrome, which are many.

Thousands of Dr's around the world have left main stream medical establishments to open their own clinics either by themselves or in groups which are especially designed to address metabolic dysfunction and diseases and almost to a fault they are all low carb or ketogenic and the main concerns are the same and that is to address blood sugar regulation, insulin sensitivity, and appetite control. Which is generally are not well accepted by the main medical community and business related to agricultural ambitions or the pharma industry. They are in direct conflict with traditional dietary guidelines. The processed food industry relies heavily on grains, sugars and carb heavy products simply because controlling all the factors to efficiently produce consistent crops that allow for world wide trade is much easier especially with the addition of AI as opposed to all the problems associated with meat production, which is extremely labor intensive as well as dealing with all the health implications of animals in general and the pharmaceutical industry are worried about the increased focus and implementation of a ketogenic diet that reduces the reliance on medications for diabetes and metabolic syndrome and effect shareholder value and reduced profits, lets just say there's a lot of actors where control over the worlds food supply is crucial going forward as opposed to the organic farmers where it's difficult to and pretty much impossible to play in this arena and where we should ideally be getting our food, which was the standard probably up until the late 50's or 60's, where organic wasn't a thing because it was all organic, anyway I digress.

Bottom line is yes there are ways to effectively promote GLP-1 foods that will help the vegetarian community but they need to be implemented properly to be effective and as always there are always alternatives that result in the same effects which is to improve health and reduce disease, which trumps finding one particular metabolism that works in isolation (reductionism). I do apologize for going on so long but this is the short version. 😊